Legends hail men of steel

FRANCIS Lee would never have attempted it. And neither would have Mike Summerbee.

The City legends admitted they were in awe of the four supermen who stopped off at the Velodrome to catch their breath at the half-way stage of an incredible journey.

Fitness freaks Tim Summers, Steve McDowell, Nathan Doggett and Frazer Cuttle - all from Greater Manchester - made history with their mind-boggling, non-stop triathlon relay from John O''Groat''s to Land''s End which they completed at the weekend in a record time of 56 hours - and a day earlier than they had expected.

But there was no free-wheeling down from Scotland, for on the way to Manchester they scaled Ben Nevis and Scafell Pike and swam more than 50 miles through 14 icy waters of the Lake District.

In short, their feats are the equivalent of cycling three fifths of the Tour de France, climbing one third of Mount Everest and swimming the English Channel four times.

Before they reached Land''s End they also took a detour through Wales to climb Snowdonia - all in the name of charity as they strove to raise thousands for Cancer Research and the British Heart Foundation.

The feat of endurance was planned and co-ordinated by a team of East Lancashire Freemasons.

And Lee and Summerbee were special guests at a Velodrome reception where police officer Summers, 35, fireman McDowell, 47, builder Doggett, 29, and solicitor Cuttle, 28, briefly interrupted their `morning ride'' from Windermere to meet the dignitaries.

Lee said: "It''s a phenomenal effort because the amount of fitness and dedication needed to do this is tremendous. Swimming across Lake Windermere is not my idea of a game of soldiers but full marks to them. I would never have tackled anything like this."

Summerbee said: "I could not have tried it in my younger days . . . in any case I can''t swim!

"What these men are doing is daunting - to go from one extreme to another is wonderful. Francis and I are in awe of them."

Cuttle, a keen swimmer, has already thrown down the gauntlet on behalf of the team.

"We''re trying to encourage other people to take it on as a challenge and raise money for charity at the same time," he said.

"We''re also hoping to have a race against teams from the Army, Navy, RAF and civilians. We''re already been offered a £1.4m donation to charity if we set it up."